


Impulse

by elyssblair



Category: Fantastic Four (Movieverse)
Genre: M/M, Post canon, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-24
Updated: 2012-12-24
Packaged: 2017-11-22 07:51:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/607537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elyssblair/pseuds/elyssblair
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Johnny needs a vacation. Impulse leads him to something, and someone, he never expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Impulse

**Author's Note:**

  * For [strifechaos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/strifechaos/gifts).



> A/N Based on the movies only. (I've never read the comics.))  
> Thank you to my beta for dropping everything to help me:)

Johnny heard the faint pop and louder shout. He sank lower into the couch cushion and tugged a magazine up in front of his face to hide the satisfied grin threatening the curl across his lips.

"Storm!"

Ben's bellow echoed through every room on the floor and Johnny had to bite his lip to keep from giving himself awaywith the chuckles trying to force its way out.

The Thing stomped into the living room and roared.

"Goddamn it, Johnny!"

Not laughing out loud was one of the hardest things he'd ever done in his life. Orange, hard, rock-like skin was completely covered in blue and silver glitter and every breath or movement resulted in a small shower of shiny flakes all over the floor.

"Nice look, Ben. Didn't think fairy dust was your style, but you really pull it off." The smirk refused to be suppressed so he twisted his lips, hoping to fake it into a thoughtful look. "Must have cost you a small fortune to buy enough glitter to cover that buffalo-sized hide, though."

"I know it was you, Storm," Ben growled, his whole body shook with anger and sent another cloud of sparkles bursting off of him. The whole effect made him look like a fairy godmother gone very, very wrong.

Johnny wanted to deny, to keep up the innocent act but imagining the Thing with delicate, translucent dragonfly wings was the last straw and he lost the final threads of his self-control. Howls of hilarity burst out of him in uncontrollable gales. He shook so hard with laughter he doubled over and fell off the couch.

"That's it. It's clobberin' time!"

Ben started for him with angry deliberation, more trails of glitter following him and sending Johnny into more paroxysms of laughter. He tried to scoot backwards away from the furious rush of orange but he couldn't quite coordinate his limbs with the giggles.

A blue clad arm appeared out of nowhere, wrapping around the Thing's waist three times and pulling him up short.

"Ben, no. Don't."

Reed's sharp, exasperated command made Johnny look from where the blue cloth held Ben, stretching all the way across the room, to the doorway where it attached to Reed's shoulder. The condescending frown pulling at his brother-in-law’s face was all too familiar.

Next to him, Susan stood with one hand pressed to her mouth and her wide eyes shadowed with disappointment and resignation.

That look, more than Ben's anger or Reed's disdain, stopped the amusement cold and made him choke on the sudden sharpness of the laughter caught up in his throat.

"Ben, why don't you go shower and see how much of that… stuff you can get off." The arm unwound and the Thing glared at Johnny for a long minute before he turned and stomped off, muttering threats and curses under his breath.

The puffs of glitter left in his wake weren't really funny, anymore. They just left Johnny with a twist of discomfort in his stomach and a sour taste in his mouth.

"Johnny, I expect you to have this cleaned up by the time I get back from my meeting."

Reed turned on his heel and disappeared. Susan looked at him with a slump of her shoulders that clearly communicated how much of a letdown he was to her.

"Johnny, are you okay?"

For a second, he wanted to spill everything he'd been feeling for way too long. But that wasn't going to make that dark concern in her eyes lighten at all.

Instead, he arched his eyebrow and let his lip lift at one corner in wry amusement.

"Everything's great. If you don't count the fact that no one in this building has a sense of humor. At all." He glanced around and let his mouth pull down into a frown. "Also, I have no idea where we keep the vacuum cleaner. Do we _have_ a vacuum?"

Susan sighed and crossed the room to place a gentle hand on Johnny's wrist.

"Talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."

"Oh, the same as usual." Honesty burned through him like his power, spilling out of his mouth before he could hide it behind his usual deflection.

"I'm still self-obsessed. Reckless. Bordering on narcissistic." Captain Raye's words came out of his mouth. Words he'd replayed in his head every day. Because she'd been right about him. Was still right about him. Especially the last bit. The part he couldn't say out loud. The part where he was a fuck up who nearly got his team killed on a regular basis.

And, god, he could still see Susan, broken and lifeless in Reed's arms. He should have been there to protect her. Should have been the one to take the spear. The world needed Susan. Reed needed Susan. No on needed Johnny.

"That's not what I meant, Johnny." His sister sighed and squeezed his wrist.

"You've been almost manic, lately. Even for you, your reaction to that," she waved her hand at the glitter shining in pools and tracks across the carpet. "Your reaction was excessive. And you went from laughing to… I don't even know what you are now. But it's not you. You've been bright and happy and over-the-top one minute then angry or depressed the next. And withdrawn. You haven't been _you_ since Venice."

Venice. Another spectacular failure on his part. He barely even remembered it. He'd been flying and then pain had engulfed him. He'd felt like he was being ripped apart from the inside out. But the physical agony was nothing compared to the emotional torture. The overwhelming sense of loss and desperation. It had rolled through him like a tidal wave and extinguished his flame. He remembered falling. And not caring.

Thankfully, Ben had been close enough to catch him. And the rest of the team had been able to save the city while he'd stayed huddled, unconscious and useless for the whole emergency.

Nightmares had plagued him ever since.

Every night it was the same. Dreaming of darkness. Alone. Dying. Reaching for somebody he knew would never come for him.

Didn't need a psychiatrist to explore his abandonment issues.

And when he was awake, there was a never-ending pressure to _do_ something. To go somewhere. Unfortunately, Johnny had no idea what he was supposed to do or where he was suppose to go.

"Johnny?"

He shook his head and let his shoulders slump, let his tiredness show.

"I don't know, sis. I think maybe you were right. We can't do this non-stop. I think I just need a break." He shrugged and smiled, tried to flash a spark of mischief he wasn't really feeling. "Maybe I just need a vacation. I know a couple of girls who'd love a weekend in Vegas."

"Johnny…" She drew his name out like he was an exasperating child and Johnny couldn't help smiling. It was a more familiar reprimand, the worry receding some in her voice and her eyes.

"Relax. I promise. What happens in Vegas will stay in Vegas. And out of the tabloids. It's been quiet the last couple of weeks, but I'll stay in touch in case there's any trouble."

#

Despite what he let Susan believe, Johnny never had any intention of going to Vegas. Or bringing along any of his usual hook-ups.

He'd never admit it out loud, but those one night's stands had never been what he'd wanted them to be. He liked the attention. He liked knowing he could find companionship and pleasure with an easy smile and a quick line. But those women, and occasional guy, had all been shallow and superficial. Because he knew anyone deeper would have seen through him in a heartbeat. Would have realized he wasn't smart, like Reed. That he didn't have Susan's quiet strength or Ben's groundedness. They would have realized he was empty and useless. Little more than a circus curiosity who was often more of a liability than any kind of help.

So, instead of heading off to Sin City, he'd rented an SUV, filled it full of supplies he doubted he'd need and headed out to find something he couldn't even name.

Now, Johnny had no idea where he was or how long he'd been driving. Wherever it was he'd ended up, he was surrounded by trees. The last signs of civilization he remembered were an hour or so behind him. Paved roads had given way to a rutted dirt track miles back and even that had finally run out.

Johnny knew he should turn around. Go back, find a hotel and bar and someone warm to spend the night with.

Instead, he got out of the SUV, grabbed a backpack and followed the barely visible trail deeper into the woods. Followed the pressure that insisted he was finally, _finally_ , heading in the right direction.

It didn't take him long to find the cave opening. It was half-hidden with overgrown foliage but he could see the scuff marks in the dirt heading in. Something had crawled inside. Or been dragged in. He could almost hear Reed tell him he was being reckless, hear Susan warning him to be cautious, to look before rushing in. He couldn't _not_ go in. So he took a deep breath, kept himself alert and ready, then stepped through the opening.

Inside, the cave was just tall enough for Johnny to stand, if he hunched a little and was wide enough that he could stretch out his arms and not touch either side. The small pool of light passing through the opening illuminated only the first couple of feet, making it impossible to see how deep the cave went. To see if anyone, or anything, hid inside.

With a hard swallow, Johnny hitched his backpack higher on his shoulder and lit the opposite hand until it cast a warm glow and flickering shadows. He moved ten feet into the cavern's depth before he could start to make out the back wall and the faint dripping sound of a tiny spring. Another couple of steps before he saw the person huddled on the floor, curled up into a tight ball next to the trickle of water.

Shadows mottled the skin and it took several seconds for Johnny to make out the shallow movement that told him the figure was alive and breathing. Another couple of steps closer, he shifted his flaring hand nearer the person on the floor and the breath he'd been holding escaped in a sharp gasp.

It wasn't shadows he was seeing. The skin was gray, like dark steel. Carefully, with his unlit hand, Johnny reached out and gently rolled the man over.

The Silver Surfer. Norrin Radd.

But he was no longer silver. His body was warmer than Johnny remembered, still cool but closer to human and the skin was softer. More flesh than metal, now. An embarrassed glance over the rest of his body showed Johnny that more than skin and temperature had become human-like.

A heavy, rattling breath shuttered through the gray body, then the dark eyelids fluttered, lifting slowly.

Storm gray eyes met Johnny's. A small, relieved smile brightened the pained lines of the man's face.

"You came," he whispered, voice faint and filled with awe. Radd leaned into Johnny’s hand and sighed with relief, eyes floating shut again. "You came."

Radd slid back into unconscious but his breathing was less labored and the tension had eased from his limbs.

He should call Reed. Or Susan, at the least. But Johnny sat there for awhile instead. Let his hand drift from gray shoulder to soft cheek and brush over the smooth skull. The sleeping man turned toward his touch, seemingly tuned to him, seeking him, and curled closer.

#

Johnny had no idea how long he sat there, watching the slow, steady rise and fall of Norrin Radd's chest. By the time he dragged himself up and out of the cave, he'd had to hoof it to make to the SUV and back before the sun set.

For awhile, he'd kept himself too busy with the supplies he dragged back from the vehicle to give into the urge to sit and cuddle again. So far, he'd created a nest out of the sleeping bag and blankets and wrestled the larger man… alien?… Norrin into it. Then he'd started a small fire near an opening in the cave that acted as a natural chimney and heated up some soup.

Now, though, Johnny was out of things to keep him busy and he found himself drawn back to Norrin's side. He wrapped himself up in the same blanket that covered the other man and let one hand stroke the soft, warm skin without thinking about it until those gray eyes opened again.

Norrin blinked at him, dark eyes searching and surprised. Then a strong, steel-colored hand came up to cover Johnny's, pressing his fingers deeper into firm flesh.

"I thought I was dreaming." The voice was still cool and deep. But there was a hint of a rasp, a buried undertone of surprise and something else. Something Johnny couldn't name but it left him feeling warm and wanting to hear it again. "I thought I was going to die here. Alone."

Cold dread splashed through Johnny, a ridiculous reaction since, until a few hours ago, he'd never expected to see the Silver Surfer again.

Everything he'd done for the past twenty-four hours had been ridiculous and out of character and Johnny suddenly needed to find control. He pulled back his hand and arched an eyebrow, shooting for bored and faintly amused as he smirked at the alien.

"To be honest, we kind of thought you'd be dead, or gone, already."

Solemnly, Norrin nodded, curling his hand over the spot Johnny had been stroking.

"I should have been. When I brought the Beacon into the heart of Galactus, all of that destructive power was called inward. It took days for Galactus to be annihilated completely. Days when I was stuck at the center of the chaos and felt like I was being torn apart as well. But the Beacon was created to withstand even the onslaught of Galactus and my merger with it protected me from the worst. I used the last of its power in order to make it safely here."

Gray eyes closed and Norrin's voice grew rougher as he talked. Johnny helped him sit up then reached for one of the bottles of water he'd stored nearby. When he handed it to the alien, silver-gray fingers wrapped around his briefly before taking the bottle from his hand. Johnny suppressed the shiver that ran through him at the touch. And the urge to lean in for more contact.

Instead, he forced himself to lean back and cleared his throat.

"Yeah, well, you're looking a little more… uh… human… than before."

Dark gray lips twitched up into a half smile. The expression was odd and oddly attractive.

"That is because I _am_ more human. Now."

"Huh? How?"

"I am not sure, exactly. Nothing like that has happened in the millennia that I have served as Herald. When we touched, it changed you."

"Yeah, you could say that." He flexed his hand, remembering what it had been like to absorb the others' powers. "But you didn't change, then."

"Oh, I did. More profoundly than you could know. Inside, I began to thaw."

"Thaw?"

"A Herald is of no use if it can feel empathy. If it can remember what it is like to love and to grieve. To feel compassion."

"I thought it was my sister who did that? Because of her resemblance to the woman you loved."

"It was, in part. But it would not have mattered, had my heart not already been opened to see the resemblance. And to feel the compassion."

"Ah. Oh." The steady gray gaze held his, made it impossible for Johnny to look away. Made him think that Norrin was trying to tell him something more. Or maybe it was that he _wanted_ to hear something more in what the alien was saying. He inhaled deep and forced himself to get it together before he made a complete ass out of himself.

"But I changed back, after I gave you that push." Push. Yeah. He'd felt compelled to follow, to tag along as far as the earth's atmosphere had allowed. He hadn't wanted Norrin to face that alone. "But you continued to change?"

"You did not change back, either."

"I did. Reed said my molecules are back to normal. No switching when I touch anyone."

The smile deepened again and made Johnny's heart hitch. "You did not change back. You evolved beyond. You now have control over it."

"How do you know?"

The smile squeezed down into a frown and gray gaze dropped. For the first time, Norrin avoided his eyes.

"I know, because we are connected."

#

"What do you mean? Connected? Connected how?"

Johnny's heart hammered in his chest. Thought about how Norrin had leaned into his touch. How he had seemed awed and welcoming when he woke to find Johnny there. Thought about how he wanted the alien to mean it.

"I do not know for sure how it happened or what it means. But somehow, you became a part of me, and I of you, when we touched. I could feel you clearly after I destroyed Galactus and the last of what he'd left in me was gone. I could feel you, feeling my pain when I returned to earth. I tried my best to protect you from it, when I realized I was sharing it with you."

"That was you? That pain?" He shuttered at just the memory of the agony that tore him out of the sky above Venice. "How did you survive it?"

"The last remnants of the Beacon's power merged with me. Protected me. The healing powers remained. I have no idea how long I've been here, recovering."

"Weeks. It's been three weeks. You've been alone here and suffering."

He thought of those dark dreams that had plagued him. The lonely ache for someone who would never come. That hadn't been his own psyche begging for attention. It had been Norrin, trying to protect him. Hurting, alone, on an alien planet and believing the he could not, should not, call for the one person in the _Universe_ who would hear him.

"Why? Why didn't you call to me? I would have been here sooner. It took me so long to follow the pull on my own."

Norrin's shoulders dropped, his head dipped and his shoulders shook slightly.

"I had no right. I nearly killed you. Destroyed your world. Got your sister killed."

"First, it was definitely Victor who killed Susan. You saved her. And you saved the world." He shrugged. "Me? Throwing me to the ground seems to be a common reaction to the first meeting. I grow on people."

"I did not want to burden you."

"Burden me? With what?"

Infinite sadness stared back at him. "With my need. I am alone in the Universe. A millennia has passed since I first took up the mantle of Herald. My love is long dead. My planet, my people if they still exist, would be unrecognizable to me. I would be unrecognizable to them, in this form. I am alone."

This time, Johnny did not reign in his impulse. He was beginning to recognize the subtle feeling that was a thread of Norrin running through him. Knew that what he wanted was what Norrin wanted, as well. To be wanted. To be needed. To be one part of a whole. A pair that could not be broken or left behind.

 "Not alone," Johnny whispered, though he could never have said whether he was talking about himself or Norrin. Then he smiled. Let his joy and his amusement show in his face and flow between them along that slender thread. "We have that connection, right?"

"We do, yes."

Norrin moved slightly, a nearly imperceptible shifting of muscles that brought him centimeters closer to Johnny.

Johnny wasn't nearly so subtle. His hands cupped smooth, steel-gray cheeks and his lips covered cool, dry lips.

The kiss was hesitant, at first. Norrin barely moved, but he opened, invited and Johnny didn't need any more than that to delve in and stake a claim. He slid his tongue along soft lips before plunging inside. Norrin was warm, but cooler than anyone he'd ever touched. It should have been disturbing or odd.

But it was electrifying. There was no doubt who Johnny was kissing. Unique and sweet. Spice and tang. Large strong hands gripped his waist.

For a heartbeat he panicked, afraid that he'd been wrong after all. Afraid that Norrin was pushing him away. But then a cool flow of _want, need, hope_ washed between them and he was lifted, tugged and shifted until he sat firmly in Norrin's lap. It was an odd sensation but not a bad one.

For the first time in a long time, he felt safe, needed. Cherished.

He eased back out of the kiss and Norrin made a soft sound of protest, gray eyes watched his every move with soft indulgence.

"So, this is a thing? We're a thing?" He felt the answer, vibrating between them but he needed to hear it, anyway.

"Yes. We are a… thing." Laughter rumbled under the words and everything in Johnny loosened and went hot and tight at the same time. A simple laugh should not be so damn sexy.

Never one to ignore an impulse, Johnny snuggled closer, claimed Norrin's mouth in a hot, sweet kiss and gave passing thought to finding a hotel. This time, Norrin's tongue darted out to play and large hands roamed freely over Johnny until coherent thought slipped away in a haze of heat.


End file.
